Ayres Insanity

  Life is in full swing right now. School, work, motherhood etc, and we're busy as ever, especially with the holidays upon us. So here's a brief overview of whats going on right now...   I was released from the primary presidency after just 7 months (our president got called to the stake), and although I had been terrified of the calling at first, I have really grown to love it, so I was less than thrilled about the change. And to add insult to injury, they called me to scouts. To say the least, I was reluctant, in fact I had to do some serious praying before I was willing to commit, but alas, I gave in. It may take a miracle but I'm hoping I'll grow to love it as I did primary.   Ryler turned 7 on November 10th. He's growing up so fast. He's really into Lego Mixels and Kendamas, and he's about as smart as they come. I walked into his room the other night to find him reading a third grade level chapter book! He is also sweet, caring, funny, and a naughty l...

  School has been back in for about a month now and the   kids are adjusting well, Taevin is in 4th grade with Mrs Chilinski, Ryler is in 1st grade with Mrs. Gregerson and Zoey is in her second year of preschool at Knowlton with Mrs. Anne, Mrs. Karina and Mrs. Tamra. This gives me some much needed alone time with my little Aspen and of course the laundry.   I'm usually overwhelmed and more than ready for school to start by the end of summer, but this year was different. Having Russ home and enjoying so much family time made the end of summer a little sad for me.    We did so many fun things, starting with our trip to South Dakota. My mom has been living there for about a year so we decided to pay them a visit and see the sights. The trip started a little rough when the girls and I made the standby flight but Russ and the boys didn't. After much stress and too many hours of no sleep for Russ, my little brother Dan came to the rescue and and helped them drive to...

  Taevin was just a baby when Russ got hired at Union Pacific, it was a huge blessing for us. He started as a laborer, the entry level position and over the last nine years, earned an apprenticeship, became an electrician, and has just a couple of months ago, been promoted to a foreman. He has worked hard and gone through all of the proper channels to move up in his career and I'm so proud of him.   When he was hired at UP, he kept his job at SkyWest Airlines part time because well, we couldn't survive without it. He quit SkyWest and moved to Delta in 2012, so for nine years he has been working two jobs. NINE YEARS! Over the course of those nine years he has been living on 6 hours of sleep a day or less, missing church, holidays, and family events. I have been through 3 pregnancies almost completely alone and have for the most part, raised the kids and maintained our home by myself. To say that the last nine years have been hard would be an understatement.   ...

  For about a few months or so Taevin has been on this vegetarian kick. It all started with a rotisserie chicken from Costco. (those things are amazing!)    We were eating dinner when Taevin told me that he felt bad for the chicken that had to die so that we could have dinner. Since then he has periodically expressed his disapproval of the killing of animals for food. Most times I would just brush it off and explain that that's what animals were put here for, but finally the other night at Applebee's, he declared that he was officially a vegetarian. I agreed to support his decision and gave him a few days to think on it.  He seemed committed so I sat him down to have a chat about his decision, what it really meant and how to substitute foods to get protein in his diet for proper nutrition.    The poor kid was torn between his conviction to the ethical treatment of animals and his dislike for beans and nuts. It was so funny and sad to watch this inner...

  My throat hurts tonight, not because I'm sick but because I yelled THAT much today. It was just one of those days.   I suppose I shouldn't admit to having failed as a mother today. I could blame it on a number of things, stress, sleep deprivation, feeling overwhelmed, PMS, blah blah blah, they're all just excuses so what the hell, it is what it is... Better luck tomorrow eh?

  I turned 35 on February 28th. I had been having a hard time with this birthday for some reason, turning 30 didn't really affect me but for some reason, 35 seemed so old... or maybe it was a premonition of what was to come.   We didn't have too many plans for the day so we decided to head down to Trader Joe's, I'd been wanting to check it out. I called Dan while we were on our way, he wished me a happy birthday, I asked if dad had gone to work today (he had hurt his back and hadn't been feeling well) , he looked out the window and saw that his car was still there and said that he must have called in again, I said I'd call him later.   We got to Trader Joe's and Dan called back just as I was putting Aspen in the cart, he asked me to  come over right away, I asked if it was serious, he said "yes, come now", I said "I'm on my way". We hopped back in the car with a knot in my stomach and started driving. Brian called me back a few m...

  As always, it's been a crazy few months, so here's a quick update.   Ryler turned 6 on November 10th, he wanted a new scooter after the one he had gotten for his birthday last year was stolen after only one use... yeah, I'm still a little bitter. well, his wish was granted and he was a happy camper again, and a very cute one might I add. I can't believe how big he is getting! He's such a character, half of the time he's telling me how beautiful I am and praising my mothering skills, and the other half he's tormenting his siblings and protesting my constant requests to clean up after himself, but we can't help but love him.   Aspen turned one on November 30th. At her 1 year doctors appointment she weighed in at just over 16 lbs. but has more than enough personality to compensate for her size. She is beautiful and very vocal but we love her in spite of her high level of maintenance!   The holidays were a busy blur but for the most part, went smoothly....